Dealerships for passenger motorized vehicles, including passenger cars, motorcycles, and personal and commercial trucks, may include hundreds, if not thousands of vehicles on a particular lot. Key cabinets are often used by dealerships as a central location where all of the keys and/or key fobs are located; however, returning keys and or key fobs to the cabinet may not always happen on a timely basis. Sales personnel may forget to return a particular key to the central cabinet, lose a key, or forget to remove a key from a vehicle. Thus, the combination of a large vehicle inventory with multiple sales personnel, and potentially hundreds of customers test-driving vehicles, keys and/or key fobs are most certainly misplaced or lost. Misplaced keys can be frustrating for sales personnel who need to find a particular vehicle for a customer to test-drive, and keeping a customer waiting may result in a dissatisfied customer and potentially a lost sale.
Lost and misplaced keys is not limited to the sales area. Customers bringing cars in for service can become frustrated if kept waiting while a search is conducted for lost or misplaced keys. Sometimes the service department does not know where a particular vehicle is parked after service is performed, or where the customer's keys have been placed. Customers can become frustrated if kept waiting while a search is conducted for either his/her missing car, and/or missing keys. Failure in customer service may result in lost future business from customers.
A need exists for improved systems and methods for tracking and locating misplaced keys. Specifically, a need exists for improved systems and methods for locating misplaced keys or key fobs for vehicles more quickly and easily.
A further need exists for a system and method for tracking and locating misplaced vehicle keys using the location of at least one target vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a positioning device that communicates wirelessly with the missing key or key fob.
Moreover, a need exists for a system and method for tracking and locating misplaced vehicle keys, wherein the location of the missing key or key fob can be determined based on the location of at least one target vehicle.
A further need exists for a system and method for tracking and locating misplaced vehicle keys using a mobile communication device, where the determined location of the missing key fob, based on the location of at least one target vehicle, is transmitted to the mobile communication device.
Additionally, a need exists for a system and method for tracking and locating misplaced vehicle keys using a mobile communication device that communicates and receives location information from the signal communication between at least one target vehicle when that target vehicle is in communication with the missing key or key fob.